DRINKING WATER
Why Multi‑Commodity Utilities Need Smart Meter Data Management
Breaking down data silos allows multi-commodity utilities to improve operational efficiency and infrastructure visibility. By managing water and electric data on a shared platform, providers can detect leaks faster and support long-term conservation goals.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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![getty-1629900540-aerial-neighborhood]( "Reclaimed Water: A Smart Infrastructure Move For Green Residential Developments")
Reclaimed Water: A Smart Infrastructure Move For Green Residential DevelopmentsReclaimed water systems, powered by MBR technology, offer developers a sustainable, cost-saving solution that meets rising water demands, eases permitting, and aligns projects with future environmental expectations.
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![google-earth-450]( "Greek Municipality Of Naousa Secures Its Water Infrastructures With ABB Automation Solutions")
Greek Municipality Of Naousa Secures Its Water Infrastructures With ABB Automation SolutionsDiscover what technologies were able to measure, monitor, and control for a city in northwest Greece, while also ensuring a safe and clean water supply.
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![singel-rolling-diaphragm-technology]( "West Coast Water Utility Manages Flow Fluctuations With Single Rolling Diaphragm Valves")
West Coast Water Utility Manages Flow Fluctuations With Single Rolling Diaphragm ValvesHaving the right valves to manage large fluctuations in water flow is one way that utilities can balance erratic flows and stay ahead of evolving community demands.
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![GettyImages-1444523399 colorado springs]( "Specifying Performance Over Equipment Quickly Reduces THMs In The Colorado Springs' Distribution System")
Specifying Performance Over Equipment Quickly Reduces THMs In The Colorado Springs' Distribution SystemColorado Springs, Colorado, enjoys some of the highest quality drinking water in the country, with most of its water coming from high country snowmelt. Despite its pristine origin in the mountains, the water at the far end of the distribution system is prone to developing trihalomethanes (THMs) due to low turnover and high water age.
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![KnowYourOptions]( "Know Your Options For Mag Meter Installation Cost, Care, And Calibration")
Know Your Options For Mag Meter Installation Cost, Care, And CalibrationElectromagnetic meters (mag meters) are well established in terms of highly accurate performance for a variety of municipal and industrial water applications. Differences in their construction formats, however, dictate how easy they can be to install, maintain, and calibrate. Compare these three options to see the value of full-profile-insertion (FPI) mag meters and their associated advantages in real-world use.
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![ProtectingOurWater]( "Protecting Our Water – Keep Chemicals In The Tank")
Protecting Our Water – Keep Chemicals In The TankLeaking or overfilled tanks can cause environmental problems, contaminate drinking water, and cost a company millions of dollars. Proper instrumentation, monitoring and control can prevent these problems. By Bill Sholette, Level Products Business Manager, and Ricardo Chavez, Solutions Business Manager, Endress+Hauser
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![resilientwedgegatevalvesreg]( "Tri-City Water Infrastructure Partnership: When 'We' Is Better Than 'Me'")
Tri-City Water Infrastructure Partnership: When 'We' Is Better Than 'Me'This is a story about three cities in North Carolina: Albemarle, Concord and Kannapolis. Albemarle, 40 miles east of Charlotte, had excess capacity in its water system and needed new customers to defray costs.
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![getty-2169301839-digital-water]( "The Power Of Choice: Why Vendor-Neutral MDM Is Essential For Water Utilities")
The Power Of Choice: Why Vendor-Neutral MDM Is Essential For Water UtilitiesAs smart water initiatives are embraced and AMI is deployed, the sheer volume of data generated by meters becomes both an incredible asset and a significant management task. This is where a robust Meter Data Management (MDM) system truly shines.
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Why Municipalities Can't Afford To Do What They've Always Done, Choose Closed Vessel UV
Ultraviolet disinfection is now a standard feature in most wastewater treatment systems. UV has also been embraced by the drinking water community as an effective barrier against chlorine tolerant organisms such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia. The technology is widely favored in wastewater treatment due to its non-chemical nature, the fact that no subsequent dechlorination process is required and its ability to be unselective in disinfection performance.
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![GettyImages-1277259589_ayodhya temple]( "Geoinfo Services Designs A Low-Carbon Water System To Provide Clean, 24/7 Service To One Of India's Holiest Cities")
Geoinfo Services Designs A Low-Carbon Water System To Provide Clean, 24/7 Service To One Of India's Holiest CitiesIn this case study, read about a network design that reduced energy use while improving health and quality of life for one of India's holiest cities.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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Aquafine Ultraviolet Treatment Systems For TOC Reduction1/29/2025
Aquafine TOC reduction units coupled with ion exchange systems or EDI will oxidize trace organics into smaller ionic species, carbon dioxide and water, which are more readily removed by ion exchange resins, EDI, and/or degasifiers.
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Dosing Of Sodium Hypochlorite Solution For Drinking Water Disinfection9/22/2022
A water purveyor was in urgent need of a chemically resistant flow instrumentation with a long life of service that allowed reliable and long-term stable dosing of the sodium hypochlorite solution.
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Industry-Specific Applications For UV Technology6/17/2024
In Microelectronics, Aquafine UV systems provide a synergistic approach towards the reduction of trace organics and microbial contamination for ultrapure water.
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Ultrasonic Level Measurement In Water And Wastewater Plants5/19/2016
Radar technology is often viewed as the “best” method of level measurement, but this isn’t necessarily true in the water industry.
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Scrubber Application1/27/2022
This customer supplies district heating and electricity for the region of Sønderborg. For one of their waste applications a MAG meter failed within 6 months, and was successfully replaced with a Panametrics Aquatrans AT600.
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Application Note: Troubleshooting A pH Electrode1/26/2011
Many factors affect performance of a pH electrode. When performance degrades, it is always a challenge for the analyst to identify the cause. Common troubleshooting procedures, which include evaluation of slope, electrode drift, time response, and accuracy, take considerable time. By Thermo Fisher Scientific
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Protection Of Membrane Systems Utilized For Municipal Water12/1/2020
As water scarcity issues around the world become more acute, more municipalities are having to turn to alternative water sources for potable water supplies. Also, many municipalities in coastal areas are seeing the quality of their water sources degrade as sea water intrusion occurs.
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UV Technology Offers Solution For Emerging Water Crisis2/19/2014
Many are turning to UV as an effective barrier to enable the reuse of wastewater, for indirect reuse, and aquifer recharge.
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The Basics: Testing RO Quality4/28/2014
Osmosis is the phenomenon of lower dissolved solids in water passing through a semi-permeable membrane into higher dissolved solids water until a near equilibrium is reached.
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Advances In Paper-Based Devices For Water Quality Analysis2/22/2017
Water quality test strips have been around for decades. They are usually constructed from a porous media, including different types of paper, and undergo a color change when dipped into water containing the analyte of interest. These test strips have seen application in swimming pools, aquariums, hot tubs, remediation sites, and other commercial/environmental areas.
DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS
The CHEM-FEED® Wall Mount Duplex Skid System is designed to be mounted on a wall freeing up valuable floor space. Available in a simplex and duplex chemical feed pump configurations. Pipe material options include PVC, CPVC, PVDF, and Chem Proline® (PE).
WRT's Z-92® process is the most effective and environmentally responsible choice you can make for removing uranium from drinking water and the community. That's because after removing the uranium, we dispose of it at a licensed facility
The XD 7000 and XD 7500 Spectrophotometers combine a state-of-the-art optical system with ease of use and flexibility for a wide range of water testing applications.
With all the environmental challenges facing us today, doing everything we can to conserve and preserve our water is imperative. As you know, tens of thousands of leaks go undetected, equating to a staggering 6 billion gallons of water loss daily in the United States. To help combat this water loss, we have developed a program that provides you with the tools and knowledge to help find those undetected leaks. Our program is Leak Detection Pilot Program, and we want to partner with you.
The MEGALUG Series 1100CH split restraint harness for couplings have a split design for ease of installation. It restrains both existing and new couplings on Ductile Iron Pipe.
Meet HYMAX Pro dedicated size couplings – the newest addition to the HYMAX product line, designed to join the same/differing diameter plain ends without welding and/or special pipe fittings.
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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![pregnant_water-Getty-2207189112]( "Drinking Water Contaminated With 'Forever Chemicals' During Pregnancy Linked To An Increased Risk Of Childhood Asthma")
While most of us are routinely exposed to low levels of PFAS, some communities are exposed to far higher levels from nearby pollution sources. A new study shows that in one of these at-risk communities, children were more likely to develop asthma if their mothers were exposed to very high PFAS levels during pregnancy.
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![wastewater ecological damage-GettyImages-2231956262]( "The Pragmatic Shift In Source Water Protection: Moving From Symptom Management To Root-Cause Accountability")
A shift in how we approach source water protection is long overdue. Currently, we are trapped in a cycle of escalating costs, forced to treat symptoms like algae and invasive weeds expediently with chemicals while the underlying risk in the reservoir compounds. True risk management requires breaking this cycle. -
![River water pollution, Ecological-GettyImages-1215336784]( "The AWWA Said $2.4 Trillion. It Missed The Compound Interest.")
Einstein once said of compound interest, "He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn't, pays it." The same logic of compounding applies to the organic sediment accumulating on the floor of your drinking water reservoir. The longer you wait to address it, the more exponentially expensive it becomes to fix. -
![snowystream-Getty-521971897]( "Winter's Alarmingly Low Snowpack Offers A Glimpse Of The Changing Rhythm Of Water In The Western U.S.")
The April 1 snowpack measurement has long been the single most important number in western water management, considered a strong proxy for how much water the mountains are holding in reserve. But in 2026, that savings account has been woefully deficient. -
![ColoradoRiverDam_Getty-1280300802]( "Why Colorado River Negotiations Stalled, And How They Could Resume With The Possibility Of Agreement")
Why Colorado River Negotiations Stalled, And How They Could Resume With The Possibility Of AgreementThe five most common sources of conflict between people are values, data, relationships, interests, and structure. The current Colorado River negotiations include all five. -
![Water droplets, PFAS, Forever chemical water contamination-GettyImages-2173433890]( "Designing Resilient PFAS Treatment Strategies For Water Agencies")
Water agencies across the U.S. are facing a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that poses a conundrum: Should they take a cautious or aggressive approach to treating PFAS contamination in their water system?
ABOUT DRINKING WATER
In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:
- Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
- Drinking water treatment of source water
- Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers
Drinking Water Sources
Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater.
Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.
Drinking Water Treatment
Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.
There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.
The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.
The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.
During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.
Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.
Drinking Water Distribution
Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.
A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.
Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.